St Peter's Basilica is the goal of the entire Via Francigena, the reason a thousand years of pilgrims walked from Canterbury to Rome. Built over the tomb of the Apostle Peter, the present basilica is one of the largest churches in the world, crowned by Michelangelo's vast dome and fronted by Bernini's sweeping colonnaded piazza. Inside lie Michelangelo's Pietà and the high altar above St Peter's grave, the journey's end for every pilgrim. The adjoining Vatican Museums hold one of the greatest art collections on earth, culminating in the Sistine Chapel.
Highlights
- Journey's end above the tomb of the Apostle Peter
- Michelangelo's dome and Bernini's embracing colonnaded piazza
- The testimonium awarded at the pilgrim reception by the portico steps
- Michelangelo's Pieta and the Sistine Chapel nearby
- First view of the dome descending from Monte Mario
At a glance
| Period | Renaissance (16th–17th century, over a 4th-century basilica) |
|---|---|
| Stage | 26 — Dampierre-sur-Salon to Gy |
Take care
- Long queues in full sun — carry water and a hat
- Dense crowds inside; keep valuables secure
History
By the 15th century Constantine's ancient basilica was in decay, and Nicholas V first planned its replacement around 1450. Julius II laid the foundation stone of the new church on 18 April 1506 to Bramante's design; Michelangelo, chief architect from 1546, shaped the dome that Giacomo della Porta completed in 1590. Carlo Maderno added the long nave and facade between 1607 and 1614, Urban VIII consecrated the basilica on 18 November 1626, and Bernini's colonnades enclosed the piazza between 1656 and 1667.
Myth & legend
Tradition holds that the Apostle Peter was martyred and crucified upside-down in Nero's circus around 64 AD and buried on the Vatican hill. The first basilica was raised over his tomb by the Emperor Constantine in the 4th century, fixing this spot as the heart of Western Christendom.
Geology
St Peter's and its embracing colonnade are monuments in travertine, a freshwater limestone precipitated by mineral-charged springs at Tivoli east of Rome, quarried since antiquity as lapis Tiburtinus and floated to the city by river. The Vatican Hill beneath is far older, grey-blue marine clays laid down in a Pliocene sea long before the Tiber or the Roman volcanoes existed.
Wildlife & nature
From November to February vast starling murmurations twist over the Tiber at dusk before the birds roost in the plane trees along the embankments. Behind the basilica the Vatican Gardens keep holm oaks, Italian cypress, stone pines and Canary palms, where naturalised green parakeets nest and swifts scream over the dome all summer.
The view
Michelangelo's dome closes the long axis of Via della Conciliazione, and Bernini's colonnade opens like embracing arms: the sight that ends a journey begun in Canterbury.
Photography
Photograph the dome at dawn down Via della Conciliazione before traffic builds, from Ponte Umberto I at blue hour, or from the dome terrace over the cobbled ellipse below.
When to visit
Rome shines in spring and October; August is hot and the piazza shadeless at midday. Easter, Christmas and Wednesday papal audiences fill the square with vast crowds.
Getting there
Walkers descend from Monte Mario, catching their first view of the dome, into the piazza; Roma San Pietro station and Ottaviano metro serve the basilica from across the city.
Where to stay
Religious guesthouses and pilgrim-run hospices across Rome accept the credential, alongside hotels in the Borgo and Prati districts; reserve well ahead in any season.
Food & water
Rome's cast-iron nasoni fountains flow constantly across the city, including near the colonnade: block the spout to arc the water upward and refill bottles as you go.
Safety
Expect long queues in full sun — water and a hat while you wait — and dense crowds inside; keep valuables secure as in any great city. In an emergency dial 112.
Accessibility
A step-free entrance with ramps serves the basilica beside the right colonnade, with lifts inside; the dome ascent remains a long stair climb above the terrace level.
Visitor tips
Carry your stamped credential to the pilgrim reception by the portico steps or the office at Piazza Pio XII to receive the testimonium after the final hundred kilometres on foot.
The guide, in full
The written guide to this site.
It happens on Monte Mario, on the last morning. You have been climbing through suburban trees with your mind somewhere else, and then the path turns and the city opens below you, and there, small and grey-green and unmistakable across the roofs, is the dome. Medieval pilgrims called this hill Mons Gaudii, the mountain of joy, and every account of the walk agrees that people stop here, and that some of them cannot speak for a while. Whatever brought you out of Canterbury, whatever kept you going over the Alps and the Cisa and the bare ridges of the Val d'Orcia, it has brought you to this. More than a thousand miles of it, and the last few are downhill. Take your time on the descent, then walk into the piazza rather than sidling in. Bernini laid out these colonnades between sixteen fifty-six and sixteen sixty-seven and described them himself as the arms of the Church opening to receive the world: two hundred and eighty-four columns in four curving rows, saints ranged along the top, sweeping round an ellipse that lifts your eye to the basilica. Its whole purpose is to make an arriving traveller feel expected. Underneath everything you are looking at is a grave. Tradition holds that the Apostle Peter, the fisherman who left his nets, was martyred in Nero's circus on this hill around the year sixty-four and buried close by. The Emperor Constantine raised the first basilica over that tomb in the three hundreds, and it stood for more than eleven centuries. By the fourteen hundreds it was failing, and Julius the Second laid the foundation stone of the new church on the eighteenth of April in the year fifteen hundred and six, to Bramante's design. Michelangelo took charge in fifteen forty-six and shaped the dome, which Giacomo della Porta completed in fifteen ninety. Carlo Maderno added the long nave and the facade between sixteen hundred and seven and sixteen fourteen, and Urban the Eighth consecrated the basilica on the eighteenth of November in sixteen twenty-six: one hundred and twenty years, and a long line of popes and architects. Inside, the scale defeats you at first, because everything is in proportion and nothing looks as large as it is; then you notice that a carved cherub near the door is taller than you are. Go right, to the Pietà, where a young mother holds her grown son across her knees in marble so finely worked it seems warm, carved by Michelangelo in his early twenties. Then walk the nave to the baldachin, the twisted bronze canopy beneath the dome, and stand at the balustrade above the confessio. That is the spot. Everything else, the columns, the mosaics, the travertine floated down from the quarries at Tivoli, exists to mark one place on the ground. Do the last practical thing gladly. Take your stamped credential to the pilgrim reception by the portico steps, or to the office at Piazza Pio the Twelfth, and receive your testimonium, a sheet of paper bearing your name in Latin that will mean more to you in ten years than it does today. Then find a nasone fountain, block the spout with your thumb and drink, and go and sit in the shade of the colonnade. You walked here. Sigeric walked home from here in the year nine hundred and ninety and wrote down the way, and you have just followed him in reverse, one stage at a time, on your own two feet. Let it settle. There is nowhere else to be today. Welcome to Rome, pilgrim, and well done.
Common questions
How old is St Peter's Basilica & the Vatican?
St Peter's Basilica & the Vatican dates from the Renaissance (16th–17th century, over a 4th-century basilica) period.
How do I get to St Peter's Basilica & the Vatican?
Walkers descend from Monte Mario, catching their first view of the dome, into the piazza; Roma San Pietro station and Ottaviano metro serve the basilica from across the city.
Is St Peter's Basilica & the Vatican accessible?
A step-free entrance with ramps serves the basilica beside the right colonnade, with lifts inside; the dome ascent remains a long stair climb above the terrace level.
When is the best time to visit St Peter's Basilica & the Vatican?
Rome shines in spring and October; August is hot and the piazza shadeless at midday. Easter, Christmas and Wednesday papal audiences fill the square with vast crowds.
Is there food and water at St Peter's Basilica & the Vatican?
Rome's cast-iron nasoni fountains flow constantly across the city, including near the colonnade: block the spout to arc the water upward and refill bottles as you go.
Where can I stay near St Peter's Basilica & the Vatican?
Religious guesthouses and pilgrim-run hospices across Rome accept the credential, alongside hotels in the Borgo and Prati districts; reserve well ahead in any season.
What should I know before visiting St Peter's Basilica & the Vatican?
Carry your stamped credential to the pilgrim reception by the portico steps or the office at Piazza Pio XII to receive the testimonium after the final hundred kilometres on foot.
Is St Peter's Basilica & the Vatican safe to visit?
Expect long queues in full sun — water and a hat while you wait — and dense crowds inside; keep valuables secure as in any great city. In an emergency dial 112.
Nearby on the route
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